This inventions relates to inflatable water impervious containers, and more particularly to inflatable bathtubs for bedridden patients. The invention is especially suitable for patients in traction, or for those patients where the minimum movement and rolling of the patients body is desired.
Various types of portable bathtubs have been proposed for use by the prior art. For example, a very early bathtub described in U.S. Pat. No. 29,914 and issued to Ramsay and Wilson in September 1860 was made of India Rubber and included a metal framework for support. In addition, various inflatable bathtubs for invalids have also been proposed. As examples, U.S. Pat. No. 573,625 issued to M. O. Ruffner on Dec. 22, 1896 for an "Invalid's Bathtub". According to this patent, there is disclosed a rubber structure which when inflated takes on a basic bathtub shape suitable for bathing a bedridden patient. The structure including means for inflating the tub and means for draining off any collected water. Two very similar inflatable bathtubs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,471,302 issued to N. M. Boward on May 24, 1949 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,504,646 issued to M. B. Burrow on Apr. 18, 1950. In addition to the tub itself, the Boward patent describes a portable auxiliary cart and various air and water interconnecting facilities. The Burrow patent includes double-layered portions in the bottom of the tub for providing pillow or cushion means to the patient. U.S. Pat. No. 2,432,147 issued to R. R. Freund on Dec. 9, 1947 is also similar except it is for use with special beds having toilet facilities built into the bed. According to this patent, the drain of the portable bathtub is over the included toilet facilities.
Still another inflatable bathtub similar to those heretofore discussed is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,058,122 issued to B. B. McDaniel et. al., on Oct. 16, 1962. This bathtub is similar to those just discussed, except it is made of a thermo plastic film to keep the cost low, and is intended for use in emergency situations where there are a large number of victims suffering from radioactive or radiation burns.
Still two other inflatable bathtubs discussed in the prior art include those disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,681,789 issued to E. Bott on Aug. 8, 1972 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,326 issued on Jan. 17, 1978. These two patent which are similar to those previously discussed describe auxiliary equipment for use with an inflatable bathtub including an attached cover, holding or restraining straps, and a water heater unit.
In addition to the inflatable bathtub disclosed in the afore mentioned patents, other portable tubs for use in hospitals are available. For example, Porta-Tub made by Mediglas, Inc. of Charlotte, N. C. sells a self-contained bed level fiberglass bathtub which is supported on heavy-duty coasters. This tub is rolled up to the patient's bed and the patient is then transferred from the bed into the tub. A spray means and suitable drainage is also provided.
It will be apparent, that the Porta-Tub is fine for bedridden patients who are not extremely overweight or for those patients where movement of the patient is merely inconvenient and not painful or undesirable. However, such a bathtub cannot be used by severely injured or bedridden patients in traction.
For seriously injured patients for which movement must be kept to an absolute minimum, the inflatable tubs heretofore discussed do provide some answers. Unfortunately, even though most of the prior art inflatable tubs attempt to keep the uninflatable bulk to a minimum so that it can be rolled under the patient, practice has shown that the supporting inflatable rim which requires considerable structural strength still presents substantial bulk which must be moved under the patient. In addition, these type of inflatable tubs still are very inconvenient or impossible to use with patients in traction.
Because of the sterile conditions that must be maintained in a hospital environment, it is often most desirable to use sterilized equipment which can be disposed of rather than equipment which must continuely be sterilized. In the case of inflatable bathtubs, most suitable rubber or plastic film materials simply cannot tolerate the high temperature steam commonly used in the sterilization procedures. Further, disposal of the entire inflatable tub has been unsatisfactorily because of the cost involved.